Identity Theft Articles

Hello Friends,

Thanks for dropping by and investing your time on such a beautiful day.

I’ve had great response to an article I wrote earlier concerning ‘Ghosting.’ Here’s an excerpt.

Have you ever wondered about, other than the fact that the person is dead, what makes identity thieves target the deceased? The answer is a technique called Ghosting.

Ghosting is a technique used by a Ghoster (ID Thief) to claim an identity that is dormant because a person died. This is desirable because the pertinent information of all living persons is listed in government records.

Obituaries that give up an inordinate amount of information such as the list below, make it easy for an identity thief to gain private information that leads to identity theft.

The thief will target a deceased person who was the same age, race, and nationality, and build a new identity for himself.

The bottom line is, the deceased cannot defend themselves, and it can take years, if ever, before the family will discover the theft.

How long has ghosting been used as a method of stealing an identity?

Ghosting ‘appeared’ in the 1920’s. Realistically the crime could have been perpetrated for centuries. In earlier times with no social identifiers, if you stated you were Nick Stevens, you were Nick Stevens.

What can be done to minimize ghosting attempts?

The family should:

He knows NOBODY will be home at 2 p.m. Saturday.

He knows family members are at a low point and won’t pay strict attention to details. He may show up at the door at 1 p.m. Saturday with a bogus ‘package the deceased ordered the day of his death.’

The package is C.O.D., costs a few hundred dollars, and OH! “For your convenience”, we will accept checks or credit cards. The distraught Mary, rushing to get ready for the funeral, pays for the package to honor John’s obligation. The thief now has the checking or credit card number and reassurance that the funeral is still on for 2 p.m.

With All That Said

It is impossible to cover all steps and be totally immune to identity theft, but with early planning and directives in place, records can be reviewed, cancelled, or closed hastily with minimum hassle. A loved one’s identity remains intact and the family members have one less thing to be concerned with.

Thanks for reading. Hope it helps.

You are about to learn much more about the seriousness of identity theft and the need for protection. For more information about identity theft click on the link in the resource box directly below.

The false use of someone else’s credit card or bank account or even using someone else’s name to work under are all different forms of identity theft. You are often expected to repay money if you become a victim of identity theft but here are some tips that will guarantee some protection to help you from becoming victimized.

First, we should all be aware of the different forms of theft and how they take place in order to know how to prevent it. There are many easy steps to take such as keeping a regular check on your credit rating and watching for activity on your monthly bills that you don’t recognize.

Never give out your personal information to anyone unless it is a verified and trusted source .A good habit to get into is to shred those personal documents that may have personal information from a credit card company or bank or even just a credit card offer that comes in the mail. Social security cards and numbers are extremely important to keep track of as it a great starting point for someone looking for a new identity.

You should always memorize your social security number. Never have it written on anything or printed on a check. The same goes for a driver’s license. Do not print anymore information on the checks then needed as it can easily be stolen. You may even want to consider having your information taken out of the phone book. Never give out any information from phone calls or emails that you haven’t asked for until you check to see if the person contacting you is genuine. Always keep copies of you personal papers or identification at home while traveling just in case they are lost or stolen.

Online Identity Theft Tips

The tips are fairly simple for online identity theft. Anti-virus spy ware that is updated frequently will protect against viruses and hacking. You should change your passwords regularly and use a combination of letters and numbers to make them a little harder for someone to try to figure out.

Emails that request information such as passwords or account information should not be answered. Verify websites before offering any credit card information as being secure as there are many fake sites that look and act like the real thing.

Becoming a victim of identity theft is never something you would want to happen to you, especially as it can end up depriving you of your life’s earnings and even put you into deep debt without it in any way being a result of your own actions.

The frustrating thing about identity theft is that you may have done your best to prevent it, but because of a careless oversight or a foolish act, you may have helped an identity thief to march off with your particulars and also your money.

Different Types And Different Consequences

Of course, not all identity theft is the same and it can also occur in different ways and affect you in different ways. However, it basically involves having some unauthorized person or persons making off with your method of identity or your ID which is then used to impersonate you. The graveness of this problem can best be seen when one considers that there are at least, it is believed, over ten million Americans that have had their identities stolen.

The different types of identity theft include acts of a criminal nature and also, frauds committed to rob you off your money. In the case of a criminal act, the identity thief will use your identity to commit an act of illegal nature including a terrorist strike, or obtain a permit in your name, or even use your identity to leave the country.

Criminal acts also involve laundering of money, taking part in organized crime as well as indulging in cyber crimes, and in addition, identity theft can also allow the identity thief to take part in smuggling of narcotics and even indulge in human trafficking.

The other consequence of identity theft is committing acts of fraud including bank fraud, credit card fraud as well as other kinds of frauds that result in significant financial losses to the victim.

Having understood the dire consequences that you will have to face if you allow identity theft to affect you, it is in your best interests to do all that is required to prevent such from happening. To begin with, you should not keep documents such as bank statements, and other pieces of paper that contain your personal information lying about where a thief can get hold of them. Instead, you should ensure that these documents are shredded after they have ceased to be of any use to you.

Another no-no is divulging your personal information to anyone who tries to elicit such information in different and very clever ways. Mostly, it is never necessary to provide your personal information to anyone and if you receive solicitation from a bank purporting to need your personal information, you should never fall for this simple ruse.

Also, you should ask for a Credit Report and go over it with a fine comb to see whether there are any suspicious transactions on it. In case you notice something wrong you should report the same and initiate action at the earliest to rectify the situation.